Hamas's armed wing declared an end to a five-month-old Gaza
ceasefire Tuesday by firing rockets into Israel, but the
Palestinian government led by the Islamist group called for the
truce to be restored.
Hamas' armed wing said it fired the rockets from the Gaza Strip
in response to the killing of nine Palestinians at the weekend by
Israeli forces.
There was no immediate Israeli government response, as the
Jewish state celebrated its Independence Day.
"There is no calm between us and the (Israeli) occupation. The
occupation ended the calm," Abu Ubaida, spokesman for Hamas' armed
wing, the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, said after the group
resumed rocket fire for the first time since the November truce
took hold.
The Hamas movement, which leads the Palestinian government, also
blamed Israel for the breakdown in the truce but stopped short of
formally declaring it over.
The Hamas-led Palestinian government issued a statement calling
for both sides to honor the ceasefire.
"The government reiterates its desire that the calm continue and
be preserved in the way that achieves the national interests of the
Palestinian people," government spokesman Ghazi Hamad said.
Observers say there has been a debate within the Hamas
leadership over whether the group has to take a harder line towards
Israel, but the Islamist group denies any divisions.
An Israeli army spokesman said at least five rockets were fired
at Israel Tuesday two of which landed near a southern Israeli town.
There were no reports of casualties.
Israeli helicopter gunships opened fire near the border fence in
southern Gaza in an attempt to stop the rocket fire, Palestinian
witnesses said. An Israeli army spokesman said Israeli helicopters
fired at rocket launchers in the southern Gaza Strip.
Hamas had largely abided by the ceasefire, but other groups
continued to shoot makeshift rockets into Israel.
(China Daily via agencies April 25, 2007)
